Monday, June 20, 2011

The internets are blowing up today about the rumor that Bud Selig has rejected the deal Fox extended to Frank McCourt, a deal which had provided the only substantive lifeline that Frank McCourt has been able to grasp in the past months.

MSTI had the news earlier today, including a link to the Tim Brown Yahoo Sports article that posted this morning--but that post has since been taken down. But here's what MSTI said Tim Brown had said (man, this sounds like a bad game of telephone):

Commissioner Bud Selig has rejected McCourt’s stab at solvency in the form of a television rights deal, finding that the financing of yesterday’s debt (both personal and professional) with tomorrow’s revenue is not a sustainable business model.

McCourt was notified Monday that, in spite of the divorce settlement he reached Friday with ex-wife Jamie, Major League Baseball would not approve the 17-year, near-$3-billion contract with Fox, money McCourt has said he’d require to keep the Dodgers viable. The divorce settlement also was contingent on Selig’s approval of the Fox deal, as it was partly funded by the contract.

With a large payroll outlay due in 10 days, the fight has come again to McCourt, the feisty Bostonian whose choices seem limited: sell or sue.